The Blue Angels (0-4, 0-3 OVC) never led in the contest and trailed 21-9 through eight minutes of play. GAHS scored the first six points of the second canto, but the Lady Tigers (5-0, 4-0) closed the half with a 15-4 run, expanding the advantage to 36-19 at halftime.

IHS hit 9-of-12 field goal attempts in the third period, as the Lady Tigers pushed the advantage to 58-27 with eight minutes remaining. Gallia Academy scored three of the first five points in the final quarter, but Ironton closed out the 79-34 victory with a 19-4 run.

GAHS junior Jalea Caldwell paced the Blue Angels with 12 points, followed by Carly Shriver with six and Hunter Copley with five. Adrienne Jenkins marked three points, while Abbey Cremeans, Jenelle Stevens, KoKo Higa and Kim Edelmann each had two points in the setback.

The Blue Angels shot 6-of-19 (31.8 percent) from the free throw line and 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) from the field, including 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc. GAHS senior Jordan Walker led the Blue and White with eight of the team’s 18 rebounds. Gallia Academy had three offensive rebounds, seven assists, seven steals, two blocks, 40 turnovers and 15 fouls. Caldwell and Jenkins led GAHS with three assists and two steals each, while Walker and Jenkins each rejected a shot.

IHS shot 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) from the free throw line, 32-of-66 (48.3 percent) from the field and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc. The Lady Tigers had 34 rebounds, led by Wise with eight and Barrier with six. Ironton marked 18 offensive boards, 15 assists, 26 steals, one block, 17 turnovers and 21 fouls. Wise paced the Orange and Black with eight steals and eight assists, while Lewis marked the lone team block.

Gallia Academy will try to flip the script on January 2, when the Blue Angels invade Ironton. GAHS returns to the court on Monday when Coal Grove visits Gallia County.